Supplemental article for a foundation garment



A. BRACK 2,946,335

SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLE FOR A FOUNDATION GARMENT July 26, 1960 Filed Jan. 10, 1958 INVENTOR.

A/ma Brack ATTORNEY Unite tates 7 2,946,335 SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLE FOR A FOUNDATION GARMENT This invention relates to an article of clothing to be worn as a supplement to a girdle or other foundation garment. I

With some women of middle age the contour of the dorsal part of the body in an area over the spline slightly below the waistline becomes somewhat concave, forming a cavity-like area. This area will be referred to sometimes hereinafter as the dorsal depression. Because of it, a hollow space generally exists at this area underneath the girdle as conventionally worn. Even when the wearer is standing still and the fabric of the girdle is stretched across this dorsal depression, the depression is noticeable and the figure looks aged. Upon walking and otherwise moving about the girdle does not bridge this depression smoothly but instead tends towrinkle in one direction and another, and this same wrinkling effect is imparted to the skirt or other outer garment giving the appearance of an improperly fitted outer garment. In many instances this ill-fitting effect is quite noticeable to others, such as when walking along the street, and may be the cause of embarrassment to the wearer.

Attempts to remedy this difliculty by means of stays of whale bone or similar strips of material sewed onto the girdle or otherwise fixed thereto in a manner to bridge across this dorsal depression, are not satisfactory. In such attempts there still remains the hollow region beneath the girdle and when the back of the wearer is bent, as in stooping over either forwardly or sideways, one end of such stays or other bridging material employed tends to press against the body giving rise to discomfort, while the other end tends to protrude outwardly creating an unsightly ridge or bump in the outer garment.

Resort to quilted or similar kinds of cloth padding has proved unsatisfactory for several reasons. Such pads are diflicult to construct so as to bring them down to the necessary thinness at the edge to avoid having an abrupt change in' the contour of the outer garment at the area where such cloth padding is Worn. Moreover, such cloth pads tend to wrinkle or become knotted upon being laundered. Another serious objection if the cloth pads are worn upon the body without being well sewed to the girdle over their entire area, is the tendency of the material of the padding to become bunched toward the upper or lower area of the dorsal depression which the pad is intended to fill, due to the pulling action exerted against'the top surface of the padding by the stretching and contracting of the elastic girdle material which is in contact with the cloth padding as the wearer bends over and straightens up, each such movement tending to compact the cloth pad into some one end of the dorsal cavity. In an effort to prevent this difiiculty it is practically necessary with quilted or cloth pad that they be thoroughly sewed or otherwise aflixed to the girdle; but

2,46,335 Patented July 26, 1960 pad is sewed in position whereby the pad' is properly centered or positioned over the dorsal depression.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide,

as a supplement to a girdle or similar foundation garment, an article to be worn underneath said girdle which will so fill the dorsal depression in a spinal area below the' waistline of the wearer at all times, including during walking and other movements of the wearer, that the girdle, and correspondingly any outer garment such as a skirt worn thereover, will have a smooth contour de-' void of wrinkles and ridges, thereby building out the figure of the wearer to a youthful-like line and so that outer garments will fit properly and hang evenly.

Another object is to provide an article to fill the said. dorsal depression that will not need to be affixed to the girdle of the wearer, but which nevertheless will remain in the proper position over said depression andnot become bunched at one edge or side of said depression when the back of the wearer is bent sideways or forward as in stooping, or when the wearer is walking.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims.

One form of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings and is described in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my device with contour lines thereon drawn through points of equal height to show the curvature of that surface of the device which is worn adjacent to the body of the wearer. I

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line 22 of Fig; 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a display form such as that sometimes used by dressmakers in fitting garments, and an end elevation view of the supplemental article applied thereto to show how the operative application of said article to the body of the wearer of a foundation garment is made.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear side elevation view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a pad 10 made of resilient material such as foam rubber and which is desirably though not necessarily square in plan view, ranging from about four to six inches on each side of the square, has a smooth flat surface 11 'on one sideand a convex surface 12 on the opposite side with the curvature of said convex surface varying at different areas so as to give difierent degrees of convexity over difierent areas of said opposite surface. The convex surface gradually tapers to a thin edge adjacent the entire perimeter of the pad.

The point of greatest thickness of the pad may range from about one and one-quarter inches to five-eighths of an inch, or thereabouts. A preferred manner of curva ture of the convex surface 12 is indicatedby the contour lines a, b, c, d, e in Fig. 1, said lines being drawn through points of equal'heights from the flat surface 11. It will be noted from these contour lines and the cross-section shown in Fig. 2 that from one edge (the upper edge in Fig. '1) the surface rises much more abruptly than from the opposite edge (the lower edge in Fig. 1), thus giving a greater degree of convexity near the one edge and a more gradual slope near its opposite edge. With respect to the axis of the pad corresponding to a median line drawn vertically through Fig. 1, the pad is bilaterally symmetrical, as shown by the contour lines in Fig. l, and as indicated bythe cross-section shown in Fig. 3

habits "of 'motion.

As above stated, the pa'd'10 'is made of resilient mateof the character of foam rubber, preferably one characterized by a dense dispersion of minute air spaces. This resiliency of the pad in coaction with the pressure against the flat face of the pad by the girdle worn over it enables the pad the better to be molded to the form or contour of the wearer. Desirably, though not necessarily, it has its fiat face 1-1 of smoother texture than the =texture of the-convex face 12. This difference "in texture of the two faces may be had by selecting as that part of the foam rubber comprising the face 1-1 the surface wbich was in contact with the mold at the time the foam rubberis made, the air-cells being :smaller and the rubber more compactthcre than throughout'the mass of the material. When the :mass of the rubber material is 'cut'to bring 'the pad to its desirecl'convex face 12 the convex face will automatically beof :coarser and :rou'gher texture than the flat face 11. 1f desiredthe pad when made "of foam rubber may be formed in a mold having the shape "of the final pad, in which event *cutting and trimming it to the desired shape would be eliminated and the "convex isurface 1'2'would 'be of about the same texture as the flat surface 1 1. There'is, however, some advantage in-having the convex surface of rougher texture, as hereinafter explained.

The pad is worn underneath the girdle or other foundation garment 13 and is illustrative'ly'shown in operative position on the form 14. Ribbon or elastic straps 15 secured to the pad '10 in any suitable manner may, if desired, 'be-employedto be tied around the body o'f'the wearer to assist in holding the pad in the desired position. Or, if desired, the pad may be held in a light envelope, not shown, made of suitable fabric such as nylon jersey, "to which the straps 'may be aflixed for tying around the body in a manner similar to the way the straps 15 are employed. The said envelope with its contained pad may thus be positioned so that'the pad will'b'e properly centered over the dorsal depression. The girdle is then worn over the said envelope. When an envelope is thus used to contain the pad 10 it is preferable to have the envelope made of material somewhat elastic-like, and with a slight tendency to clingto the human skin, such as the aforesaid nylon jersey, thus enabling the girdle to be pulled over it and affixed in proper position.

The greater convexity of the pad at or adjacent one 'of its edges than at the opposite edge oifers an advantage over one which has the same degree of convexity with re'spectto its entire periphery. *As'I have herein'above stated, when the back is bent forwardly, as in taking a steeping position and then straightened up again, as well "as in other motions of the body, there is an alternate stretching and contracting of the elastic material of the girdle in various parts of the garment, and this includes that part of the girdle which is over the pad It This exerts a force upon the pad 10 tending to compress it toward one edge or another of the dorsal depression and, in the case of quilted or other types of cloth padding may even produce a bunching or wadding effect in the material comprising the pad. This tendency of the pad to come compressed toward one edge of the dorsal depression' and even to migrate from the desired position in the depression, and the direction of such tendency, va'ries'with different persons by reason of their different 1 It varies also by reason of the fact that the contour of the dorsal depression clifiers with different people, the point of greatest depth, for ex ample, being toward the top in one case and toward the bottom in another. I have found that by having a "greater convexity, i.e., a more abrupt curvature at or adjacent one edge of the pad 10 than at its opposite edge, and by positioning the pad with the greater convexity in that area of the dorsal depression toward which is the aforesaid compression and tendency of the 'pad to migrate, there is much greater assurance'that the pad will remain in the desired position in and over the dorsal depression than if the convexity were uniform with respect to the entire periphery of the pad. The greater thickness of the pad at the area of greater convexity, in conjunction with the resiliency of the pad, enables the pad the better to absorb the distorting forces exerted upon it as aforesaid, so that it remains in its proper position. And taking into consideration that the dorsal depression is generally of different contour in different people, the wearer may readily find a position in which the pad is to be worn to obtain the least tendency toward the aforesaid migration of the pad, to give the greatest comfort for her various back bending and walking habits, while maintaining a smooth and otherwise proper foundation surfacefor outer garments worn there over and building out the figure to amoreyouthfuhlike line so as-to enable the clothing to lit betteg'hang evenly,

and creating a youthful shape.

In connection with the ,problem of overcoming the aforesaid tendency *for the pad to migrate from the desired position during various motions of the body, the

smoother texture of the flat surface 11 as compared with a rougher texture for the convex surface 12 is of some advantage in that it helps to give greater frictional resistance between the body and the pad than betwcenthe pad and the girdle. This diminishes any tendency that the stretching and contracting of the girdle materialmay exert toward moving the pad out of its proper position.

While the features of greater convexity 'toward one side of the pad, and a smoother texture on the flat face offer the aforesaid advantages, I do not mean to foreclosefrommy invention a pad of resilient material, such as foam rubber, having uniform convexity with respect to the entire periphery or one having substantially the same texture or degree of smoothness on both 'its -'-faces. The pad need not always be-square. Rectangular shaped pads and those having rounded corners -or even a circular-like perimeter may be used. Pads having the square corners are preferable in that the additional surface and edges which they give assist further in holding the pad in the desired position with respectto the dorsal depression, particularly when the pad is used by con-- taining it in an envelope and the envelope tied aboutthe body to position the pad properly for its intended .purpose as heretofore explained. If desired, the said envelope may be sewed or otherwise afiixed to the inner side of 'the girdle or other foundation garment worn, in a .position thereon such that when the pad is positioned in such envelope it will be properly centered .over the dorsal depression when the garment is worn.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A separate article of apparel to be worn under neath a girdle to occupy a space between said girdle and the body of the wearer where such space constitutes a dorsal depression in the surface of the body in a spinal area near the waistline, said article comprising: a pad of uniformly resilient material; said pad having a substantially flat surface on one face and a convex surface on the opposite face; said convex surface being so contoured that the pad tapers to a thin edge along its entire periphery; said convex surface rising more abruptly from-a first portion of the edge of said pad than from a secondportion opposite said first portion to form a pad which has its portion of greatest thickness nearer to said first portion of said edge than to said second portion of said edge, and with respect to a plane perpendicular to said fiat-surfaceand normal to said first and second portions ofsaid edge, is bilaterally symmetrical; said pad being of such size that when worn in said dorsal depression withits "convex surface adjacent the body of the-wearer it sun References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Dayton et a1. Dec. 26, 1933 Haw-kins et al Aug. 22, 1939 Jacks Oct. 1, 1940 Greene Oct. 19, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 17, 1947 

